Gearing up for a Contest

It's been all over the Facebook page, but for readers who are not on Facebook, I just wanted to let you know that to celebrate Nick's birthday there will be a special entry next Friday and a contest featuring Jennifer Morais Photography. Make sure you read then, you will not be disappointed!

My Fall Home Decor - FINALLY!!

I got out of class early today, so since we didn't have any bread (and the staple lunch in our house right now is PB&J) I made a quick run to the supermarket to pick up a loaf. While there I got the impulse to go into Marshall's and see if they had candles the size I wanted (remember my failed trip to The Christmas Tree Shop that doesn't exist in California?) and success! I found them, and everything else I wanted for this entry.

I had set a very strict budget for myself of $35 and the goal was to get red and orange candles, fall place mats, a wreath for the door, and pumpkins. I already had everything else I needed (white candles, M&Ms (that was covered by our food budget for the week), a glass jar, a tablecloth, and other various seasonal decorations.

This is what our dining room table looked like before (excuse the mess, I took this within the first couple of days of our move):


I had a lime green tablecloth out with flower placemats and spring/summery candles.

Once I changed around a few things:


-2 Candles $3 each
-4 placemats for $7 (And the best thing about these is that on the other side they're plain brown so I can use them with other tablecloths I have)
-2 bags of M&Ms for the jar (I don't know how much they cost, Nick did the food shopping this week)
-1 mini pumpkin for under $1

Actually, my table really looks like this at the moment:


But I have a craft project for that slightly larger pumpkin (cost me $2). I need to invest in a glue gun, then I can post an entry about that!

In addition to switching out those linens, I also changed the dish towels in the kitchen to more fall appropriate ones (golden yellow and another with a pumpkin vine) and put out our little Halloween nick-knacks. This next picture is a really bad one, but that's what you get when you have two cats who are running all over the place and trying to get in on the action:



Before we had out white cloths with yellow lemons and green leaves on them. I switched them to these paisley-esque ones and put a wicker pumpkin and two maple leave candle holders out. I'd also put some candles in there, but with the cats...that's a bad idea. It's like I have two toddlers already.

For the front of the apartment, all I did was buy a wreath for $19. It should be able to last me through Thanksgiving, and maybe even Christmas since it has some red in it. I also put out a ceramic pumpkin we got as a gift a year or two ago, and taped some costumed characters to the windows. When I was little and we lived in our apartment, my mom used to buy them (they're generally a dollar or two depending on the size and they only last 2-3 years if you can flip them over (the sun washes out the color eventually)) and hang them up in the windows since we couldn't do much else to show our holiday spirit. I don't think Nick is that big of a fan of them, but it makes me feel like a kid again, so he has to put up with them every year.


When we were kids we also used to make little ghosts out of tissue (take a couple bunch them up, then put another over it, tie with a ribbon, and draw a face on it) and hang them around the apartment. That's actually a really good idea if you're having a party...you can put a tissue over a tootsie pop instead.

Anywhoo, so all of that put me at $35 exactly, anything that I bought can be kept out until Thanksgiving, and next year I shouldn't have to spend anything because I can reuse it all (minus the pumpkins of course).

Rosemary Chicken with Apple Salad and Onions

If you have not already done so, please look to the left of the entry and see the poll I've started. I have tons of entry ideas, but I'm just curious as to what people actually want me to write about. If you have a second, please take the time to answer the poll this way I know where to tailor my entries. Thanks!

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I hate chicken, and since we don't eat meat I rarely eat it. But about 2 months ago my parents and I checked out a new local farmer's market back home and my mom suggested I make dinner. They all eat meat, and the meat there was local, so I picked out a few things and made an awesome meal that even I, who has NEVER liked chicken EVER loved.

I plan on making this again for Thanksgiving (because I know I would never like turkey, and it was a fluke that I even like this chicken). But since I made up the recipe on the spot, I'm doing my best to attempt to explain it now as a way to share the recipe and recreate it again the next time...that sounds bad, but I've got high hopes it'll turn out fantastic.

For Chicken:
1 whole chicken de-gutted
1 bag of pearl onions
Several full cloves of garlic
rosemary
olive oil

For Apple salad:

1 1/2 gala apples (peeled and chopped up)
1/2 stick of butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 c walnuts (I'm trying to remember if these were actually in there or not, maybe??)
1/4 c golden raisins
1/4 c regular raisins
3/4 cup sweet white wine or apple juice

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

1. add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When it starts to get hot add the apples. Give them a stir and after one minute add 4 tablespoons of butter. When the butter begins to brown add the sugar and cinnamon. When the sugar begins to caramelize (that's when it bubbles up like it's boiling), add the wine. After you cook it for 2 minutes add the raisins and walnuts.

2. Cook the apple mixture for 5-8 minutes. Let some of the liquid evaporate, but not all of it. When it's done, spoon out the apple with a slotted spoon into ta big bowl and continue to let the contents of the frying pan cook. Keep your slotted spoon handy and keep stirring it so the liquid doesn't burn. Basically you're trying to make a little syrup, so you want it to be thick. When it's done pour that into the bowl with the rest of your salad.

3. Next, take the skins off all the onions and set them aside.

4. Time for the chicken! cover the bottom of your roasting pan/bakers dish whatever with a little bit of olive oil. Put the chicken on top. Then put some olive oil on top and inside. Next put some salt and rosemary on top and on the bottom of the chicken. Make sure you rub it in. Then put some rosemary in the middle of the chicken (I don't put salt on the inside) (that you don't have to rub in if you don't want to, haha). Put a few cloves of garlic on the inside of the chicken and around the dish as well as a couple underneath. I'd say 6-10 total depending on the size of the cloves.

5. Now stuff the chicken with some of the apple salad and onions (don't over stuff it though, maybe 3/4 full), then put the rest in the dish around the sides of the chicken. If you have any leftover juices in your bowl from the apple salad dump that on top of the chicken. I also like to lift up the chicken to let some of the juices flow underneath then set it back down without letting anything get stuck underneath.

6. Cook until the chicken is cooked. Thanks to the apples and the juice/wine from the salad, this will be juicy enough that you shouldn't have to baste or anything.

7. Enjoy!

I think this recipe is big enough for a chicken that'll feed 4-6 people depending on appetite and the kinds of sides you include (we had this with butternut squash ravioli which was a really good match, but I could also see having mashed potatoes as well). So you can always add more or less depending on what you need.

This Week's Sales!

Thank God, only one more post now until that Dirt Candy post is off the main page! I can't stand it anymore, and this strict food budget Nick and I are on for the next week (due to massive amounts of visitors for the two weeks after that and the extra spending we'll no doubt do when they're here) really stinks. We have a week of pasta with red sauce and peanut butter sandwiches ahead of us. I guess, though, we'll lose a few pounds before the Holiday season. That's got to be a good thing, right?

Now on to the sales!

Banana Republic - Free shipping on orders of $100 - BRFREE100. At the factory store they're having a 70% off sale CLICK HERE for a coupon for an additional 20% off at the store...I think it's time for me to break out the BP card and finish off my Christmas shopping.
Sak's 5th Avenue - Free shipping on orders of $150 - SEPSHIP10
Bath and Body Works - 3 Wick Candles, 2 for $20, Wall Flowers are 4 for $20 or 6 for $24.
New York Philharmonic - Alan Gilbert Conducts Mahler's Sixth Symphony, September 29 - October 1. Seats are $39 & $59 if you enter the code: 1001-39. Click on "Promo" button to buy.
CO Bigelow - Buy 2 items, get 1 free!
Netflix.com - If you click on the link I gave you here, you can get a 1 month free trial. I think if you go straight to the website without clicking that link you get 2 weeks free.
Bloomingdale's - Got the urge for your man to be a CK underwear model? You can get 25% off male Calvin Klein underwear through October 11th.
Ann Taylor Loft - I think this is only in-store: Spend $50 and get a $25 gift card, so if you liked either of those jackets I posted on the Fall Fashion entry and couldn't justify it, you can always use those gift cards for Christmas presents...I'm such an enabler.

The Ins and Outs of Finding your Dream (rental) Home

I feel as if after this past year I am now an expert on how to rent an apartment. For three months I traversed the internet world trying to find the perfect 2-bedroom apartment from 3,000 miles away and really learned a lot of tricks about the process. So here's my favorite websites and tips, and hopefully you'll find them helpful!

Where to start:

I think the old adage "location, location, location" is key here. Where is a place that's a good distance from both you and your partner's work? Is the neighborhood safe? If you have kids, what are the schools like? What is the apartment close to (highways, shopping, the downtown, etc.)? Does any of that even matter to you? Do you have a specific town or specific kind of town you like? And another thing frequently not thought about, do you care where your apartment is located on the complex? All of these things will factor in to how much you spend on rent. Something closer to the street or in the basement is less money even if it's the same floor plan.

What amenities are important to you? Most if not all websites will let you filter out options by these. Decide which are must haves and which would be nice but are not deal breakers. For us, we had to have a two bedroom (we need an office, plus we would like to not have to move again and a baby might be born towards the end of our stay here), at least 1000sq/ft, a clean kitchen with updated appliances, clean bathroom, and the complex had to be pet friendly. Things that were nice was AC (normally this would be a requirement but we live in a temperate area so we can get away without), a patio or balcony, storage space, and a gym. We lucked out and got all of those things with extras to boot.

Websites to use:

Apartments.com - A website that is generally all inclusive of any managed care property in your area. What sets Apartments.com off from Rent.com is that they have a few personal adds put up by private owners.

Rent.com - Most of the things on Rent.com are listed on Apartments.com as well. Usually the two websites do not have every complex between the two of them, so it's good to check both. However, if you do find one that's on here and on Apartment.com, go through Rent.com. If you sign a lease and submit proof, you get a $100 gift card back.

Craig's List - The great thing about Craig's List is that you can find both privately owned apartments and houses and Managed Care properties on here. The crappy thing is that there are scams so you need to be careful. Don't email financial information and don't give information over the phone. We used Craig's List a little bit but only when we were in California. I didn't feel comfortable renting site unseen because I didn't want to gamble with so much going on.

Apartment Ratings.com - I found this to be the best website that listed apartment ratings of the different properties and buildings out there. This became like my Bible. Every time I heard of a new facility I would run here and do searches to see what people said. A word to the wise, though. If there are only one or two reviews and the property has a 100% approval rating, be careful. Sometimes managers will put reviews up saying how wonderful the place is just to have a good rating. Also remember that most of the time people come on these websites to complain and it's more rare for people to post glowing reviews of a place. Make you you read several reviews to get a general picture and when looking, don't just narrow your search to the properties listed at 90% or above. We opted for around 60% and I think our place is around 70%. So far we love it.

Some other good places to look for listings:

- The most traditional of places to look, your local newspaper!
- College websites - Almost all colleges have a page in the student services section that is just for off campus housing. Check out what they recommend and what the students say about them. If you are a student you may be privy to special listings just for you.
- Ask your friends and family.
- Driving around neighborhoods you like. See if there are any For Rent signs or complexes (you can take write the names down and look them up on Apartmentratings.com later).

Some things to remember:

- Be prepared! Come with questions (things like: Do I pay a pet deposit or pet rent? How often do you have an exterminator come? What utilities are included? How much is my security deposit? etc.)
- Look around the apartment. Open closet doors, test the water pressure in the shower, look at the windows. Often we forget to do things like that and when we move in we realize the windows are thin, the shower pressure is really low (and that means your toilet will not have great power either and washing dishes will take that much longer), or something important is broken. Nothing's worse than having the knowledge that you have to deal with a major unknown and unwanted problem for a year or longer until you can move out.
- If something is broken and you want it fixed, ask if they can fix it before you move in and see if you can have it included in your rental agreement.
- Keep at least 3 of your last pay stubs so that you are prepared when the rental manager asks for them.
- Find out what the rules are (are there quiet hours, can you paint the walls, can you get a pet eventually if you don't have one now?). Even though this isn't college anymore, you'd be surprised at the amount of rules some complexes have. It makes you feel like you'll be running from the RA every time you light up a cigarette or want to hang a picture on your wall. Except here you get charged a lot more for property damage and that's your money, not your parents'.
- Make sure you can afford the apartment. We went from two salaries to one, so we needed to figure out how much we could afford once our bills were taken care of. There's no set number, because each couple's savings needs are different. Are you saving to buy a house? Are you saving just for fun stuff like vacations? Are you saving for a college education? Are you saving for retirement? Are you doing a little bit of each? The key to not living paycheck to paycheck is making sure your rent is low enough that you have extra money to save. It's just a function how much you want to be able to save each money, or how much is realistic.
- Pay attention to key words in the description of the apartment. Think like a real estate agent. They use euphemisms to hide flaws. Cozy = small, charming = old, and so on. Was the apartment remodeled (totally redone) or updated (just a few touch ups here and there)? It's important to see pictures, read factual parts of the description (like sq/ft, etc.) and visit in person (or have someone close by) if you can.
- Read your lease. You don't want to be surprised later on.
- Don't rush into signing a lease if you don't have to. If you like a place, but it's just not perfect, wait until you find the one. It's like finding your spouse or buying a wedding dress. If you wait long enough, you will find the perfect one for you.

Considering we rented from so far away and only took one trip out here to check out places, I'm happy to say that Nick and I were able to find our dream apartment. It's not exactly everything we would want if we were to buy (the kitchen has just a smidgen too little cabinet and counter space, and there's no central AC, just a wall unit downstairs) but it has everything we wanted when we were looking and then some. My goal was to find a place we loved so much we wouldn't want to leave for 5 years (because let's face it, when you move 3,000 miles do you really want to have to move again when you know you might be moving home eventually?), and our goal was accomplished. Good luck finding your place!